Furnace block, arch, and wall



Oct. 21, 1941. R. w. BELL 2,260,242

FURNACE BLOCK, ARCH, AND WALL Filed Dec. 30, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet l Am QUTLET BETWEEN amen HT or ovE-R FaRE um:

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Oct. 21, 1941. R. w. BELL FURNACE BLOCK, ARCH, AND WALL v Filed Dec. 30, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Oct. 21, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT orrlce FURNACE BLOCK, ARCH, AND WALL Ray W. Bell, Hot Springs, Ark., assignor to Bel- Ray, Incorporated, a company of Illinois Application December 30, 1937, Serial No. 182,623

1 Claim. (01. 110-945) My present invention, in its broad aspect, has to do with improvements in drafts regulation and air circulation devices for furnaces and more particularly its purpose is to provide: means whereby pre-heated air is let into the fire box of a furnace at or above the fire line to attain more complete combustion. Furthermore and of equal advantage is my construction of a furnace wall whereby the inner firebrick construction or wall is, spaced from the outer or ordinary brick wall and the hollow chamber formed between the two walls used to provide a space for preheating air drawn into said space and discharging same in a preheated condition at or above the fire line in the fire box; also said hollow chamber is zoned so that the air drawn into the space is caused to follow a circuitous path thereby to be properly heated before being discharged into the fire box. My inner furnace wall is constructed of fire brick, and that portion or zone of the wall at and somewhat above the fire line is laid up with bricks which have spaces between each other or interstices through which air from the chamber is dis-. charged into the fire box. The remaining portion of the inner wall is of solid fire brick construction with the bricks laid up in fire resistant or high temperature cement. The outer wall is formed of common brick. The space between the two walls may be of any desired size, and

the draft control or regulators are preferably at L the top or near the top of the outer wall so that the natural draft of the furnace by suction will draw the heated air from the air chamber into the fire box and its place will be taken by outside air entering through the draft regulator or regulators, the quantity being controlled thereby.

One of the principal features of my invention is the use of blocks of fire resistant Inaaccordingly various portions of the inner wall may be repaired or renewed without disturbing the rest of the wall.

Another advantage of my invention is that the anchoring means of the blocks are adjustable and are wholly concealed either in the blocks terial or fire brick construction, but much larger than an ordinary fire brick, which are laid up in single, double or plural block zones in the inner wall and extend into the air chamber, cutting the same up into zones so that the air will follow a circuitous route. These blocks have their outer ends against the inner face of the outer common brick wall and are anchored therein so that in effect the construction of the inner or fire brick wall is supported in zones on the series of block layers which in turn are anchored in the outer wall. This permits not only of zoning, but also of making repairs readily since the separate portions of the inner or fire brick wall are supported on the blocks and or in the construction of the outer. wall so that they will not burn out. This block and anchor construction permits of lining up the inner wall so that the inner or refractory wall is always maintained in its original position. In practice the bolts or anchors are slightly tapered and are loosely fitted for expansion and contraction of the inner wall without cracking or causing leaks of air into the fire box where notdesired. In setting up the wall or for repairs the bolts are tightened after the innerwall has cooled, and they cannot burn out since the heated air is wholly carried by the air zones of the chamber. The present construction is adapted for use with gas or oil burners since preheated air. canbe released directly to the intake of the furnace thereby increasing its e'fficiency, and the peculiar shape of the blocks permits of repairs to lower sections or zones of the refractory wall without disturbing the upper sections. The use of preheated air at or above the fire line largelyeliminates smoke and the like since complete combustion of gases and products of combustion is attained. Each wallsides, front are built separately so that draft control may be independent for each and may also extend to the bridge wall; air entering at the top must pass the length of each zone before entering. the next lower zone so that it is thoroughly preheated before being discharged into the fire box. As an arch,

construction my blocks are particularly adaptable since by a keystone arrangement of the same an arch is made self-supporting.

Other and equally important objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent as the detailed description of the same proceeds, but attention is directed to the fact that changes in construction, arrangement, size and position of parts may be made to meet varying conditions of practice, and that interpretation of the single, double, or plural as desired. Anchor bolts 6 anchored blocks;

Figure is a view of one of my anchor bolts; Figure 6 is a top plan view of my wall and 7 shows the air spaces, the inner and outer walls and the by-pass; Figure 7 is a modified form of my anchor bolt construction used with an anchor plate when the outer sheet metal and asbestos liner are 1 j line,- in which case the bricks are laid up with not used, but the bolts anchored, directly in the common brick outer wall;

Figure 8 is a perspective view partly broken away showing the construction'of mywall and especially illustrative of the manner .of arrange-n c ing my blocks;

Figure 9 is a fragmentary view taken with the outer wall removed and looking toward the inner face of the refractory wall and shows the air zones and path of air circulation;

, Figure 10 isa view of the method of laying up the firebricks with spaces therebetween to dis-. charge pre-heated air into the fire box through the refractory wall; r Figure 11 is a view of the top or arch con-, struction using my blocks to form the same;

FigurelZ is a view of one of my arch blocks, A

and; p

, Figure 13 is .a view of another of my arch, blocks, i. e. the type of block in which-the anchor bolt is engaged.

, In the drawings wherein like characters of reference are used to designate like or similar parts throughout. the several views:

.The numeral l designates the outer or common brick wall, and 2 the inner, or fire brick,; or refractory wall; the air spacebetween the two walls is designated 3.. Near the top of the outer wall I, as shownin Figure 1, is an opening 3 with draft control means 5 so that air drawn into the space 3 between the walls may be properly controlled, and since the air circulation means for the two sides, front, and other parts of, the furnace are preferably independently controlled more or less air may be admitted through any one draft or intake opening. The space between the walls I and 2 is divided bya series of layers of blocks 6 which are spaced apart to divide the space or chamber 3 into zones so that air admitted to the upper zone will travel the entire length of each zone to its point of discharge, there being provided by-passes 1 at the j ends of the layers of blocks as shown in Figures 1 and 6.

The outer wall is laid up with common brick and the series of block layers 6 .are carried thereby. The blocks forming the layers 5 are of two I0- are provided which engaged in the blocks 9 and hold the-samein abutment with the common brick or outer wall. The anchor bolts have end portions II which are at right angles to the body and extend in openings l2 in blocks 9 with the :bodies or shanks of the bolts lying in the I grooved portions of the blocks; the fitis subject to adjustment, and each bolt is screwthreaded 1 and provided'with a nut. In practice. the an- :1 I cnors hold the blocks firmly attached to the outer The inner or' fire brick or refractory wall 2 is laid up in fire-resistant or high temperature cement except at the zone at or above the fire interstices or spaces It between each brick I1; these spaces, as shown in Figures 1 and 10 provide air discharge means to the fire box. In laying up the inner wall 2 the various sections between the layers of blocks 6 are laid up so that in effect the sections are supported on the layers of blocks to the end that. lower portions of the inner wall may be repaired or replaced without removing the upper portions or disturbing the same since the layers of blocks serve two purposes; i. e.. to reinforce and divide the inner wall into relatively independent zones or sections, and to support those sections. The bridge wall orarch is preferably formed as shown in Figure 2, with layers of blocks 6 forming the supporting surface of the bridge. In Figures 11, 12 and 13, I have shown an arch construction in which the type of block designated I8 is smaller than theblock l9 and serves in the nature of a outside air therefore passes in a circuitous route indicated by the arrows in Figures 1 and 9 and becomes thoroughly preheated before passing to the fire box so that products of combustion and gases are thoroughly-consumed and the furnace rendered more efficient and largely smokeless. Furthermore the anchor bolts are shielded from heat, and the wall may be readily repaired, re-

placed in sections, and the inner wall kept in alignment and in its original position by adjustment of the bolts. My blocks are much larger than an ordinary brick and are of unique form and arrangement, and the entire wall-construction is designed to provide-the greatest efliciency Y with the least construction and material cost.-

While I have described my invention indetail in the foregoing it is emphasized that latitude in matters of change of constructon, op-

eration and arrangement of parts is permissible provided the same fall within the broad inventive concept and what is hereinafter claimed; for instance, Where stokers are used for burning coal the hot air outlet is preferably above the grate line since most'stokers have a forced draft from under the grate line. Furthermore in the, elimination of smoke caused bysmoldering of fuel on top of the coal bank and incomplete combustion of gases, the hot air projected into the fire box at this point causes complete combustion and the elimination of smoke. It is believed that theoperation of my invention and. the manner of laying up my wall and its operation are apparent from the foregoing to anyone skilled in the art. It is again emphasized that the scope of my invention is to be determined from the claim appended hereunto and forming a part of this specification.

I claim:

A wall construction for a furnace combustion chamber of the character described comprising an inner wall of refractory material and an outer wall with a substantial space therebetween, end, top and bottom walls closing said space, an intake opening into the upper portion of said space from the exterior of the furnace, an opening in the lower portion of the inner wall directly into the combustion chamber whereby suction from the combustion chamber will draw air downward- 13 from said intake opening into the combustion chamber, and means for yieldably anchoring said inner wall to the outer wall at intervals throughout their height to permit relative expansion and contraction therebetween, said anchoring means comprising substantially horizontal layers of blocks of refractory material forming portions of the inner wall and extending across said space, each block having beveled edges, each block being larger than the units of refractory material forming the inner wall and each layer of blocks contacting the end wall opposite to the end wall contacted by the next adjacent layer above and below so as to form a circuitous passageway forair from said intake opening to said combustion chamber, each horizontal layer of blocks supporting 'a section of the inner wall to provide for independent repair or replacement thereof, and anchors in the outer wall yieldably holding said layers of blocks, said last named anchors being exteriorly accessible from the outer wall and adjustable to maintain the walls in alignment.

RAY W. BELL. 

